I was asked if I enjoy doing DIY work today as I seem to be
doing a lot of moaning. My initial response, especially as I am into week 3 of
rebuilding the shed, was a resounding NO.
Then after a rethink I realised I couldn’t think of anything I’d rather
be doing. I enjoy moaning as much as gardening.
Paying Off
My hard work is finally paying off with the shed. I decided
to go for a wooden tongue and groove floor and insulated the underneath with
70mm of Kingspan insulation so we won’t get icy feet when the weather turns
cold. I’ve given it four coats of varnish to cope with any heavy footwear, I
was going to go for five coats but I was told that’s bordering on being
obsessive…me? The front of the shed has been given three fresh layers of wood
stain to brighten things up. I have made good progress but am still in the
position where all I see is either things to do or imperfections. It’ll take a
bit more work to get everything just so and I can relax on the veranda and feel
a sense of achievement.
It’s been a long drawn out job and the family are just
waiting to see what I get next. I’m keeping off the buy and sell sites for a while,
so the only things I’ll be bringing into the house will be vegetables from the
garden.
Courgette man
In the three weeks doing the shed I took my eye off the
veggies. It’s only taken the weeds that long to grow and go to seed. Thankfully
the grass has slowed down a lot as the nights/day are getting colder and the
light is reducing, so although it took the flymo a while to chew through the
clumps, the grass is looking respectable enough. I have to eat my words about
not growing excess veg though as I am up to my neck in French and runner beans
and courgettes. I have been trying to give the courgettes away but there don’t
seem to be many neighbours who like them, I can see the curtains twitching but
they don’t come the door when I knock as they can see what I have in my arms.
“Not that bloody courgette man again” I hear them saying.
I asked my lad if you can deep fry courgettes and he tells
me you can deep fry ANYTHING, so I might give that a try - maybe in one piece
without chopping it all up first. I couldn’t stand another courgette curry so
this might be a welcome change.
Deadheading
The other job I have been neglecting is deadheading
flowering plants. It’s amazing how quickly sweet peas give up on flowering when
not cut. All of their energy goes into making seeds. There are a lot of plants
that do this.
What does deadheading
do?
Deadheading refreshes a plant's appearance, controls seed
dispersal, and redirects a plant's energy from seed production to root and
vegetative growth. It also keeps things tidy, which is what I seem to spend
most of my day doing in some form or another.
Deadheading is a maintenance practice that can be done throughout
the growing season, from spring until autumn. The best time to deadhead a
flower is when its appearance begins to decline. How often a particular plant needs
it’s spent flowers removed depends on the life span of its blooms, which can
range from a day to several weeks, depending on the species. Weather also
greatly affects a flower's longevity. During moist, cool summers, flowers will
last much longer than they will during a season of sweltering heat. Torrential
rains also take their toll on blossoms.
How is it done?
Choosing the exact point to make a deadheading cut can seem
confusing, since perennials have different flower forms. Because deadheading,
like other types of pruning, is so species specific, it can be difficult to
group plants into categories. For most plants, however, all you need to
remember is to prune spent flowers and stems back to a point where there's a
new lateral flower or bud. If no new flower is apparent, prune the stem back to
a lateral leaf.
Deadheading on a regular basis, the waves of blooms in my
garden can be extended by weeks or even months and can be relaxing too, which
is just what I need to do for a while.
